At last years E3 Summit, Ubisoft announced I Am Alive, a survival-themed game which is set in Chicago, after a devastating earthquake in the city destroys much of the bustling metropolitan area.

Today, the developer behind the title Darkworks has posted an announcement on its website, stating that it had "carried out its duty" on the title, with the rest of the game's development to be handled by Ubisoft Shanghai, who were already assisting on the title.

The non-violent survival game, which is due for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at some point during the 2009-10 financial year, will no longer have Darkworks working on the title, as the company has "respected its contractual obligations on the project". The announcement in full is by no means sobering:

In order to respect the new launch date for this ambitious title, and Darkworks having other obligations, we have mutually decided to complete development of I Am Alive at Ubisoft Shanghai, as the two studios have collaborated on aspects of the title over the past year.

The team at Darkworks has respected its contractual obligations on the project and will be a part of the success of the game when it launches.

Darkworks were previously responsible for Cold Fear and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare. Ubisoft Shanghai, who will now handle the development of I Am Alive were responsible for Tom Clancy's Endwar. It is unclear as to whether any key-creative personnel from Darkworks will continue to act in an advisory role to Ubisoft Shanghai. The other "obligations" of Darkworks have not been specified.

While little is presently known about I Am Alive, we've got a trailer and a bunch of [screens=4154]screenshots[/screns] on the mirror. The game is scheduled to launch on the PS3 and Xbox 360.